


Angst Hours

by LiterallyCantChooseJustOneFandom



Series: Server AU Time [1]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine, Discord - Fandom, discord server - Fandom
Genre: are we dead?, even i dont know, i only get one chapter at a time, im dying to know if i die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:47:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26921623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiterallyCantChooseJustOneFandom/pseuds/LiterallyCantChooseJustOneFandom
Summary: Posting for a friend without an AO3 account!A server AU where we in the BATIM studio!!!
Relationships: Simps Squared
Series: Server AU Time [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2048456
Comments: 19
Kudos: 14





	1. A grave mistake

This story starts off with a group taking a trip. Professor was driving, Spot in shotgun. The next row of the van contained Mooms, Novia, and Glam, two of which were singing karaoke to the radio badly and the third had heart eyes, staring at Spot. The final row was somewhat quieter, Arrias sitting behind Mooms and Novia looking out the window, while Pike and Bards had a quiet conversation between themselves.

"OH MY GOD, STOP THE VAN!"

Professor, in a move of panic, slammed on the breaks.

Novia, with her tree height even while sitting, hit her head off the back of Professor's seat.

"Spot, is there a good reason-"

Spot pointed past Professor, "Let's go there."

It was a building most would miss while just driving by, hidden partly by trees but it was a building, old looking too.

Bards, the only one with any form of common sense, spoke up, "Is that really the best idea?"

Novia and Mooms responded at the same exact time, "Nope," and both of them were out of their seatbelts and out of the van before they could be stopped.

Professor sighed, "Guess we are checking out the old abandoned building then."

-Line break-

Finding a place to leave the van out of view and everyone getting flashlights, they entered the building. It was an old studio of sorts. Posters still on the walls, with characters called 'Bendy the Dancing Demon' and 'Boris the wolf'.

"Well, this place sure screams creepy and we just entered," commented Arrias.

"Nope, I'm out. See ya."

"Dad nooooo, let's explore."

Professor tried to walk to the door, with Spot holding his arm trying to get him to stay.

"Hey, have any of you heard of 'Joey Drew Studios?'" All turning, the group could see that Mooms and Novia has gone into the first lobby area. Mooms looking at a cardboard cutout and a projector while Novia looked at the rather large company logo on the wall.

Bards was quick to pull out her phone, "I can't look it up, we have no service out here."

"Maybe we could find some clues to what this place was if we look around," Pike perked up.

"Creepy old building and no service? No thanks. Better to leave now."

Glam stepped in this time, "How about this, we split up into groups to cover more area and so we can get out of here sooner?"

"Sugar cookie, you come up with such good ideas."

"Alright, I can live with that. Probably."

And with that, they paired off and went separate directions.

-Line break-

Mooms and Novia wandered around. Novia looking through papers while Mooms looked at anything that caught her eye. She had grabbed and was holding onto a record and a small Bendy plush as of the moment.

"Damnit, I can't find anything of importance. Just sketches and storyboarding. All I can tell is that this studio is definitely an older one, probably back to black and white cartoons. It probably went under during the Great Depression given its location and the fact that we've never heard of any of these characters."

"All that just from the art?"

"It makes the most sense. The style is similar to older cartoons and it looks like they had to do all the animating by hand."

"If you say so."

Novia caught something out of the corner of her eye. An ink bottle. She reached out, compelled to grab it.

-Line break-

"I have played enough DnD to know this looks like some cult shit."

"That's a bold assumption, don't you think?"

"Weird pillars in a room for a switch to an ink machine, a book called "The Illusion of Living" by Joey Drew, the same name as the studio, the main character that we see is Bendy the dancing _demon_. This _screams_ cult."

"When you put it like that, that makes sense."

Pike, tired of carrying the book, set it down on one of the pillars, unbeknownst to him, the pillar the book goes on.

-Line Break-

Glam and Spot held hands as they went through the hallways. Everything was eerily quiet, but they were fine together.

Until they weren't.

"Spot, please tell me that isn't what I think it is."

"I-I-I-I think it is."

On a board, tilted vertically, was a wolf not unlike the ones on the posters, black and white with overalls. Only this one was life-sized and life- _like_ with it's chest cavity wide open, ribs pointed outward, inside empty except for a wrench sticking out it.

Terrified out of their minds, they felt a feeling compel them to grab the wrench. Looking at each other and tightening their grip on each other's hand, they moved forward. Once close enough, Glam grabbed the wrench and they both dashed out of the room.

-Line Break-

"Goddamn, what the fuck is that."

Arrias and Professor watched as a machine was pulled upward from a pit below.

Grabbing the cog they found, Arrias turned to Professor, "We should find the others."

"Yeah, hopefully they know something."

Walking back, they heard a conversation already going on.

"Novia, I'm telling you, this is some cult shit."

"Bards, you can't tell me you aren't even a bit curious about _why_ they have all this? Look, let's just turn it on and as we are whatever it's supposed to do, we leave."

Professor walked into the room first, taking in the rest of the group, six pillars with an item on each except for one and a bottom and switch in the back.

"We found some kind of weird machine."

"That must be the ink machine then. Bards, we should just turn it on, it probably won't even work with how old this place is," Pike spoke up.

A sigh, "I guess you're right."

"Spot, Glam, I know I asked this before but are you guys _sure_ you're okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"We're fine, don't worry," Glam answered.

Arrias stood in front of the last pillar, "You guys do look pale."

"It's okay guys, really," Spot answered this time.

Arrias shrugged and placed the cog onto the pillar.

The button over the switch flashed 'Low pressure'.

"Oh joy, another thing for it to start up."

"Me and Mooms saw the button for it earlier. I can go run and push it and meet you guys at the machine."

"I can head back and see if it starts up as soon as the switch is flipped."

Nods from the rest of the group and the two left the room, heading in different directions.

-Line Break-

Novia sprinted, planning to get to the button as fast as she could. Her hair stood on end, she felt like she was being _watched_. She ran.

She knew she was in the last stretch of hallway when she skidded to a stop, her heart in her throat.

A Bendy cutout peeked behind the corner for the room and slid behind the corner once again.

Her heart pounded and her breathing was heavy before she clenched her fist.

'Whoever is here picked the wrong people to fuck with.'

Surging forward, she skidded to a stop at the corner, ready to confront the person.

No one was there.

'Alright, calm down. Logically, that couldn't have happened. It was my mind playing tricks on me since I feel uneasy right now.'

She didn't even believe herself.

She was quick to enter the room, push the button, and run back out.

"Let's hurry up and get out of this shit hole."

-Line Break-

In the meantime, Arrias had climbed down below the railing, getting a closer look at the machine. It swung back and forth slightly, the nozzle passing over part of the platform.

Arrias, curiosity driving them, walked forward and stood below the nozzle, looking up in.

Suddenly, the machine made a noise.

Ink flowed out of the nozzle.

-Line Break-

The switch was flipped and the small group made their way to the machine, mostly quiet. Novia caught up as they neared the machine. Entering the threshold, they saw no Arrias but a inky black creature with a wide creepy grin, horns, and ink dripping from them crawling into and over the railing.

They ran.

The terror and fear of _what the fuck was that thing_ drove them to ran as fast as they could. They didn't even realize they never saw Arrias.

Or rather, they technically had but not in a form they expected.

Professor had taken the lead at some point during the run, reached for the door as the group neared the exit.

The floor broke beneath them, the light at the end of the tunnel being swallowed by the inky depths of what was to come.


	2. Taken

A collected group of groans could be heard around the room, the group now waking up after the fall.

The first to speak was someone who hadn't been present before, the voice of a younger child.

"Zagreus? Professor?"

An older voice, also not present before, spoke next, "Huh, wha- hOLY FUCK!"

The rest of the group, sitting up, noticed the presence of four new members to the party.

Two hedgehogs, a younger child, and somebody in their teens-adult years.

The kid noticed the rest of the group, soon after. Specifically Mooms.

"Momma!"

Scrabbling up, the kid ran to Mooms, hugging her.

Silence filled the room.

"Excuse me but what the fuck is going on?"

Professor, looked the other new human up and down, "Zagreus?"

"Yeah, it's fucking me. Now can somebody explain how me and Ten are here and why we are in this shit hole?!"

Silence again.

"Novia."

Novia turned her head to Bards, "Wha-"

"If we would have left earlier, we would have been fine. We wouldn't be stuck here, THAT _THING_ WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CHASE US!"

"I-"

"That wasn't a thing, that was Arrias. She was covered in the ink when that machine started up," One of the hedgehogs cut off the argument, standing to his feet. "Our efforts are better spent finding a way out and to turn Arrias back then to argue."

The only answer was silent nods, a bit of tension lingering in the air.

-Line Break-

Finding various forms of simple weapons - an axe, pipes, and even a wrench - the group moved forward, lacking one but gaining four more.

"Well, more cult stuff," Bards was looking over a small shrine and gave a pointed look at Novia.

Novia stayed silent as Mooms grabbed a tape player off the shrine, hitting play.

A male voice played through, drawing everyone's attention.

Once it played, before the group could speak, a voice not unlike the one on the recording spoke, "I said, can I get an **amen**."

On reflex, the group turned, weapon holders ready.

Nothing, no one was there.

"Cults, recordings, and voices oh my," Pike said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

It didn't work.

The group trudged on, two looking behind in case the man behind the voice decided to make an appearance.

Wading through a hallway flooded with ink, the ink up to Ten's waist while Gleam and Shadow both had to be carried.

A man, fairly tall in stature and inky black skin walked past the threshold of the hallway they were in holding a Bendy cutout.

The group froze, with baited breaths. Unsure what they should do. Call out to the man? Try to catch up? Avoid him?

Spot moved first, wading through as fast as they could, pipe in hand. Glam was quick to follow.

The rest of the group snapped out of it and tried to catch up.

"Uhhhh, guys? _Nobody's here._ "

Gleam, Shadow, Bards, and Pike were the first ones to catch up, seeing a dead end to a hall the man went to, a Bendy cutout, and a marking on the wall.

"Oh, that's lovely. Disappearing men and markings made by cult members, exactly what I love to see," Bards deadpanned.

Mooms helped Ten up to dry surface out of the ink while Novia looked down the other part of the hallway.

"Our way forward is blocked. And from the looks of it, we need to find switches to turn on. We guys stay here and look for any. We'll head back to the other side and see if we can find any."

-Line Break-

"Music department," Professor, leading the group, read the banner aloud. "So this place must connect to the upstairs."

"Not that it will do us any fucking good now."

Ten stepped into the small room first, "There's two hallways, should we split up?"

Before anyone could answer, three masses rose from ink puddles in the room.

Ten yelped as he was pulled back, Mooms and Novia both grabbing him. Spot, Professor, Zag, and Pike, all with varying levels of shock, were quick to ready their weapons along with Gleam and Shadow.

The inky masses surged forward, trying to land a hit on someone but a few well placed hits took them all out. The inky dispersed, sinking into the floor.

Glam was the first to speak, "What were _those_?"

Nobody answered, because nobody _had_ an answer.

"We need to keep moving," Professor said. "And hope we don't encounter any more of those."

"We should split up to cover more ground. No one goes alone and each group has at least one weapon," Novia stepped in, logical thinking taking over.

"You sure this won't lead to some other fuck up like it did upstairs, listening to you?"

For any who paid enough attention, Novia flinched slightly in response to Bards' words but hid away her reactions the best she could.

"If we are going to try to find a way to get Arrias back and escape, covering as much ground as we can is the best plan. I'm not saying splitting up for a while, just enough for us to figure out if there is anything useful on this floor and to find the way to the next one if there is one."

Doubt and tension was evident in the air, silence reining once again.

Suddenly, Zag grabbed Novia by the arm, pulling the taller towards the one hallway, "Just split up. Pay attention to your surroundings and you'll be fine."

Not seeing much choice, the rest split off, one group following after the duo while the others went to the second hallway.

-Line Break-

Spot, Glam, and Shadow who had decided to go with the two, had followed after Zag and Novia but split off at another intersection.

Twisting her hands, Shadow brought up something that was on her mind, "Do you think we'll be able to turn Arrias back?"

"With any luck, yes."

"Don't worry about it, sugar cookie! We'll figure something out!"

Spot took one of Glam's hands in hers.

-Line Break-

"What's the point of starting an argument?"

"If we had left sooner, we wouldn't be here right now but _no_ , we just _had_ to turn on the creepy machine powered by a ritual."

Gleam and Bards were looking in a room while Shadow questioned Gleam and Pike stood guard at the door with a pipe.

"To get out of here, we need to work together. Not argue amongst ourselves. Regardless of blame, leave that for once we get out."

Bards let out a sigh, shoulders sinking with the released breath, "Alright."

-Line Break-

"You're blaming yourself, aren't you?"

"Why shouldn't I? It _is_ my fault after all."

"You did jack shit to cause this."

"I'm the one that said turn on the machine, I'm the one that said to stay. Because of that, Arrias was turned into that and we are now trapped."

Silence fell between the two.

-Line Break-

Mooms held Tensuki's hand as Professor looked down a hallway.

"Well, this is definitely our way down but it's flooded with ink. If we can find a way to somehow drain it, we should be able to head further in if we need to since I don't think we'll find what we are looking for on this floor."

"Think we should look around a little longer or head back to regroup."

As Professor began to turn around, Ten felt the back of his suit grabbed and he was yanked backwards, his hand slipping away from Mooms'. His scream was swallowed by him disappearing through one of the markings left by a cult member on the wall.

"TENSUKI!"


	3. Tension

Most of the group had met back at the beginning room from before, waiting for Mooms, Ten, and Professor. There was, to the relief of most of the group, less tension hanging in the air.

They didn't wait long before Mooms and Professor ran in, the lack of Tensuki sticking out like a sore thumb.

"TENSUKI WAS SNATCHED, A HAND REACHED FROM ONE OF THOSE MARKING AND PULLED HIM THROUGH!" Mooms explained in a panic.

"That doesn't even make any sense! How the fu-"

"Neither does weird ink blobs attacking us or disappearing men but that happened too Zag."

"Novia, shut the fuck up."

"But where could they have taken him?!" Glam and Spot were both freaking out now.

"Probably for a ceremony. Since we brought _back the one they worship_ , they probably plan on having one to welcome that thing back." Bards' tone made it very clear how she felt.

Professor began to connect the dots, "They plan on using Ten as a sacrifice."

"Most likely."

"We need to find where he is, as fast as possible. We don't need to lose someone."

The _someone else_ was left unspoken.

-Line Break-

"LET ME GO, I WANT TO GO BACK!"

"Quiet pipsqueak, you should be honored I chose you, someone so young, for our lord."

Ten was being dragged behind the taller inky black man, the grip tight on his arm. Using all his strength, Ten swung his leg and kicked the man in the shin.

"Little brat!"

The man swung Ten into the wall, head colliding directly with it.

As Ten sank into the blackness of unconsciousness, he heard one last thing said.

"That's rather…. Strange."

-Line Break-

Ten slowly stirred awake, as he was being tied up to a post.

"Perfect, just in time."

"What do you want with me?"

"Nothing someone as simpleminded as a child will understand."

"Hey!"

The inky man stepped away before Ten could kick him again.

"Now don't struggle, it will go more smoothly that way."

The man walked away and closed the door to a side room behind him. Ten began to struggle as soon as the door closed.

Ten ignored the voice over the loud speaker as he struggled against the rope holding him in place.

As soon as he snapped the rope, he refocused to the loud speaker.

Screaming.

Horrified, Ten looked to the door as it broke down. A lanky form stood in the doorway. That smile would haunt Ten for nights to come.

Forcing his body to move, he took off down the hallway that had opened, the twisted form of Bendy, what was once Arrias, gave chase.

Ten had an advantage though. Boards blocking the way kept the larger from following through the hall while Ten and his smaller stature had no trouble slipping through.

Ten made it to an intersection, the path ahead had an exit sign hanging above it but was flooded with ink. The other was more barren, a path to deeper in the studio.

Ten made his decision, "I have to find the rest. They're probably worried. We need to help Arrias." The young boy ran down to the hallway that was barren, unaware of the dangers that awaited him should he have tried to escape.

Reaching a room, the boy closed the door behind him, placing the wood piece down. A weak defense but better than nothing.

Ten froze hearing a can rolling down the hallway connected to the other end of the room. Slowly turning, he called out, "Hello?"

A tall figure walked around the figure. They were a cartoonish wolf, like the one he had seen on a poster.

"Is your name Boris?"

It nodded.

Ten smiled.

-Line Break-

They ran through the hallway, quickly scanning everywhere and fighting any of the inky creatures that appeared. It was a mad dash, one in hopes of finding Ten before it was too late.

Mooms, the closest, was the first to hear Ten's voice. She ran in that direction, finally catching sight of the young child, sitting on top of the shoulders of a taller cartoonish wolf.

"TENSUKI!"

-Line Break-

The group took turns getting some sleep, not completely trusting this 'safe house' Boris had brought them to.

Each getting a portion of the bacon soup that seemed to litter the place.

Sitting in a circle, the group ate in silence, tension hanging heavy in the air once more.

"So….. What do you do now?" Mooms was the first to break the tense silence.

Discussion of plans and an idea of how to proceed were brought up, most giving input.

Except one, who stayed silent the entire time.

Soon enough, a plan was conceived. They wouldn't split up again, not unless they absolutely had to. People with weapons would stay in the front and the back so the unprotected middle had a defense. They would also need to try to find weapons, as many as they could so everyone had one and could defend themselves if they were paired off or if somebody got separated.

Plan built, the conversation turned to more light-hearted discussion, an attempt to ease the tension and to prepare for what was soon to come.


	4. At Fault

Gathering what little supplies they could from the safe house, the group with their newest addition began to get ready to leave. Weapons being passed around, leaving Mooms, Glam, Bards, and Zag with weapons.

Lining up and Boris holding Ten's hand, they exited the safe haven.

Transversing the darken hallways, it didn't take long for them to come across a closed gate.

"Shit, now what are we supposed to do?"

Boris gently released Ten's hand and walked over to a vent grate, removing it. Turning, he gave a thumbs up to Ten.

"Boris, will you be alright alone?" Ten obviously looked nervous having his new friend go off on his own.

Boris shifted slightly and it was obvious he was trying to put on a brave face.

Several members of the group shared glances as Novia stepped forward. "I can always go with Boris and you guys continue on ahead, we'll find another way around."

"Ya sure, Puke Rock?"

A nod was his only response as she walked over to Boris, who began to climb into the vent.

Minutes ticked by after they disappeared through the vent when somebody came to a realization.

"Oh my god, they didn't take a weapon with them," Mooms was the first to speak.

Suddenly, a _creak_ came from the gate, causing the group to jump, or prepare to attack.

The gate slowly rose, leaving the way ahead open for passage.

-Line Break-

"Do you think that worked, Boris?"

A silent nod as the cartoon wolf closed the box.

"Come on, let's get moving. Hopefully we find a weapon along the way."

Novia started heading to the door to the small room. Boris followed behind her, feeling safer that someone else was with him.

They crept out into the hallway, trying not to attract the attention of any of the inky creatures that could be hiding nearby.

-Line Break-

"The angel or the demon? Rather odd names for paths to take," Gleam, who was leading the group currently, said while looking up at the sign.

Pike spoke up, "I don't know about you guys but the angel path sounds kind of inviting right about now."

"Definitely," Glam and Spot said at the same time, like the couple they are.

"All in favor of the angel path, raise your hand," Professor said, raising his hand.

Everyone raised their hand.

"Angel path it is, let's keep moving."

Moving toward the angel path, a large _clank_ was heard. Most of the group jumping in surprise. A gate had dropped, closing off the demon path.

They pressed on, seeing a poster with the name, 'Alice Angel'.

Bards spoke up after they passed through the hallway, "Did anyone else feel… _Unnerved_ going through there?"

"Yes, we should keep eyes open for anything," Shadow responded from the back of the group.

-Line Break-

Novia landed one final hit on the inky being and it collapsed, sinking back into the floorboards.

"That should be the last of them Boris, good thing we actually managed to find a pipe."

Boris nodded, seemingly happy that the last was taken care of.

Moving forward, the two passed one switch off on a side hallway and came to the stop at another gate, with another switch beside it.

"If I had to guess, the switches are connected. You stay here and pull this one, I'll go back to the other one."

A nod of agreement.

Jogging back, Novia went to the side hallway, going towards the back. A poster on the wall said 'Butcher Gang'.

"That's a weird name for them."

The poster suddenly tore open, a inky twisted cartoon creature leaped out. Novia let out a yelp, nearly tripping over her own feet. She managed to dodge the creature's attack and landed a hit with the pipe. A few well placed strikes later and the creature fell, becoming ink and seeping into the floorboards.

Her stomach was in pain from where it had landed it's only hit but she shoved it off, standing upright.

She muttered to herself, "Stop being a liability. This is your fault, you need to figure out a way to fix this and keep the others out of harm's way."

Walking to the switch, she placed a hand on it with the pipe in the other. "On the count of three Boris! ONE! TWO! THREE!"

She pulled the switch as Boris pulled his. The gate began to open.

Jogging back, Novia looked through the doorway, out into the open area.

"The others should be able to rejoin us here, right?"

A nod.

"Then we wait."

-Line Break-

Despite the slight prank Boris decided to pull with a nearby Bendy cutout, the group was relieved to reunite with the two, seemingly unharmed.

Ten excitedly hugged Boris as soon as he caught sight of him.

"Neither of you got injured, right?" Mooms voiced her concern.

Novia waved her off, "Never felt better. We should get moving though. Sticking here much longer isn't a good idea."

With a few nods of agreement, the group made their way into the spacious area, a toy workshop. Plushies were scattered about with more cutouts randomly placed.

Slowly, they made their way up the stairs to the left, heading to that door.

Opening the door, they walked in. The door slammed shut behind them. Lights turned on along with television sets. A song placing over the loudspeaker.

The group could feel their hair or quills stand on end, something wasn't right here.

Nearing the end of the song, the lights turned off, only to shine through the va booth.

A woman, face disfigured banged on the window, yelling the last words of the song.

"I'M ALICE ANGEL!"

The lights turned off and the glass broke.

The group, in a panic, tried to set a defense for the people without weapons, circling them. Somebody tripped and fell, landing on the ground.

Gleam and Shadow tried to figure out where she went but her black and white coloring made it hard to pinpoint her in the darkened room.

"I see you all, so many flies _trapped_ in my web. Should I kill you all now or let you live?"

Several people gripped their weapons tighter, grinding their teeth. This wasn't a situation to smart mouth someone, at a disadvantage in the dark with people still without weapons.

"Hmmm, decisions, decisions. You all could be rather useful to me. Looks like you've got a date with an angel. Come to floor 9, I'll be waiting.

A few moments of silence and the lights turned back on, a gate to the side of the room was now opened. Glam was lying on the floor, where she had fell. Ten began to calm Boris, who looked terrified.

"Great, that's just fan-fucking-tastic," Zag voiced how they all felt.

"There is a bright side to this at least," AJ said.

"And what is that, genius?"

"If we're lucky, we can get information from her."

"But that's the probably, it's based on an _if_ ," Bards spoke out this time.

"We can hope though."

Spot helped Glam back to her feet and the group reorganized, heading out the door. Unaware of what was to come.

-Line Break-

"A fortress, how lovely."

The group made their way up the stairs, looking at the large, metal doors ahead.

A voice over the loudspeaker spoke, "Perfect, you've all arrived."

The door creaked open and the group walked in.

This was something they would all regret.

The first room they entered was full of dead Borises.

Their Boris covered his eyes, shaking like a leaf. Ten could only look on in absolute horror. This was a sight nobody should see, especially one so young.

Glam and Spot hugged each other and they sank to the floor.

Spot was the only one of the two to speak, "Oh god, there's more."

Most of the group could only look on at the sight, it engraving into their minds.

The voice came again, "Take the boards above the ink, only two of you need to come that far."

With only four of them holding themselves together, Professor and Zag walked the planks while Gleam and Shadow watched over the rest of the group, in case they were suddenly attacked at random. An unlikely possibility but one they didn't want to risk.

The two walking the planks finally made it to another doorway. Entering in, they could see this Alice Angel behind a sheet of glass, an inky creature on a board not unlike the ones that held the Borises outside.

"Looks like the flies have finally arrived."

Zag narrowed his eyes, "Look, just tell us where to find the most information about this place and we'll leave."

Alice looked taken-back, obviously not expecting him to say anything, but was quick to collect herself.

"If I do that for you, I'll need you and your group to complete a few teeny tiny tasks. Complete those and I'll take you to where you can find information. Now leave my sight, before I change my mind."

A metal barrier dropped in front of the glass and screaming could be heard coming from the small inky creature on the board.

The two quickly exited the room, not trusting this angel.

Arriving back at the group, they had managed to start to pull themselves together.

Bards and Pike were slowly helping up Spot and Glam.

Mooms was blocking Ten's view of the field of dead, rubbing his back for comfort. Ten held onto Boris' hand while Novia stood on the other side of Boris, rubbing his shoulder.

Gleam and Shadow stood watch over the group and were the first to notice Professor and Zag returning.

Slowly, the group exited the fortress and a voice came over the speaker, telling them of their tasks.

-Line Break-

Spot and Glam crept through the halls, looking for the gears.

"Spotty, do you think the others will be okay?"

"Yeah Sugar cookie, we'll all be fine. Let's hurry up and find the gears so we can head back down stairs sooner."

And so continued their hunt for gears.

-Line Break-

"I don't trust her."

"I don't trust her either Shadow but working for her could be the only way to find information and get Arrias back."

The conversation fell between the two, as they snuck up on another large inky creature.

-Line Break-

"Do you think she'll go through with the deal?" Pike said while fixing a value.

"I don't know, it's hard to tell. We definitely shouldn't trust her," Bards responded, keeping a lookout for any more inky creatures.

-Line Break-

Novia fell to her knees, relief flooding her as both she and Zag were out of the little miracle station.

"Would have been nice to know that destroying those would cause that bastard to appear."

Zag helped Novia to her feet, the two heading to the stairs.

-Line Break-

Mooms stood with Ten and Boris in the elevator, Boris shaking in fear once again.

Professor had gone down to get the hearts, a gun from Alice in his hands.

Mooms heard the shriek of the creature down below then silence.

Professor dashed from the inky abyss soon after.

Once in the elevator, Professor closed the gate.

"That wasn't enjoyable, not in the slightest. Let's just hope she comes through with her part of the deal."

-Line Break-

They were fighting, a semicircle was formed around those without weapons still.

The creatures were fairly easy to fight alone but the swarm that was coming was easy for them to be overwhelmed if they weren't careful.

Finally, _finally_ the swarm ended, leaving nearly everyone with racing hearts and panting breaths.

Bards broke the silence, "Do you think I could have communed with those things with my cards?"

"Let's not find out and say we did," Novia was the one to respond.

A voice came over the loudspeaker, "You have all done well, return to the elevator and you shall get your reward."

Moving towards the elevator, the group kept their guard up.

Once inside, the doors closed automatically and the elevator began to go upwards, slowly.

The floors passed by, everyone could feel the tension hanging in the air.

"Have you all been to the outside? I hear there is so much beauty out there. The soft grass, leaves in the trees, flowers."

"Guys, I'm not liking this," Pike looked at the ceiling of the elevator.

It sounded like she was crying at first, everyone could feel their hair or quills stand on end.

When she started _laughing_ , everyone knew they were fucked.

The elevator began to plummet.

Glam and Spot hugged each other, fearing their end.

Gleam and Shadow tried to figure out a way to get everyone out, only to find nothing.

Ten hugged Mooms and Boris, tears in his eyes.

Pike and Bards looked like they had seen ghosts, frozen in place.

Professor looked panicked, trying to figure out a way to stop their descend.

Zag tried to jam his weapon through the bars to slow their descend to no avail.

Novia could only look on at everything going on.

It crashed.

-Line Break-

Zag moved his head, vision mildly blurry, most everyone else looked completely unconscious. He couldn't see Gleam or Shadow, both likely trapped completely under the remains of the elevator.

He could see off to the side Boris was kneeling by Ten, shaking his shoulders. Ten looked somewhat awake at first but quickly passed out.

He could hear someone approaching but he was having a hard time moving, fog too heavy in his mind.

Then, he could see someone staggering over, to where Boris and Ten were.

It was Novia.

She stood in front of Boris who was still trying to wake up Ten.

She spoke, "I won't…. I won't let you hurt them…. My fault…. I won't…"

As his vision began to fade, he could only watch helplessly as Boris and Novia were taken by Alice Angel.


	5. Downward Spiral

Novia slowly stirred awake. She could remember…. The elevator, it crashed…. Wait, TEN, BORIS!

Her eyes snapped open and she tried to sit up quickly only to find she was restrained to a table.

"So, you're finally awake. Just in time for the show too."

Looking at her surroundings, she could see Boris on a table nearby and Alice looming over him.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

"Now, now, you'll have your turn. In the meantime, you get a front row seat to watching the process."

She tried to fight against the restraints, screaming for the one who couldn't say a word.

-Line Break-

Ten could feel himself waking up; he could feel the soreness throughout his body, the debris under him, and he could hear somebody shouting.

Slowly sitting up, he shook his head and took a look around. Everyone else was beginning to stir, Gleam and Shadow finally getting out from under the rubble. Three people weren't with the group, Zag, Novia, and Boris.

Panicked, Ten turned his head to the other part of the room and found the source of the yelling.

Zag, but no Novia, no Boris. He was pacing back and forth.

"THAT FUCKING BITCHODILE! I AM GOING TO KICK HER ASS SO HARD WHEN I FIND HER, SHE'LL BE 2D AGAIN!"

Ten didn't notice Mooms had stood up until she was beside him, checking for injures.

As soon as Ten began to speak, Zag froze.

"Zagreus, where's Boris? Where's Novia?"

His silence was deafening and the others started connecting the dots.

"They were kidnapped."

Zag tighten his fist.

"If she hadn't been blaming herself, she wouldn't have been taken. She stood in front of Boris and Ten, blaming herself for all of this, and both her and Boris were taken."

Spot spoke quietly, "But it wasn't her fault, if I hadn't seen this place, we wouldn't-"

Glam hugged Spot, "No, no, it's okay. It's okay baby, it's nobody's fault."

Bards looked away from everyone.

Gleam spoke up, "Blaming each other and ourselves will get us nowhere. We should keep moving. The more time we waste, the longer Boris and Novia are left in her hands and the longer Arrias is stuck as Bendy."

Melancholy and guilt-ridden, the group grabbed what weapons they were unbroken from the fall, three pipes and the Tommy gun, and began to make their way through the building once more. Hoping they wouldn't be too late.

-Line Break-

Professor picked up a paper, laying in front of the cart.

The paper had one thing on it, a halo.

"I'm guessing this is the way we are supposed to go then."

"That thing can't be safe to cross in. Plus, it's missing a gear," Bards pointed to the control panel.

Mooms came out of a side room, holding a lump of ink. "I found this, feels weird."

Pike was looking at a machine to the side, "Do you think that will work in here?"

Mooms shrugged her shoulders and walked over, Ten trailing behind.

Placing the ink blobs into the machine and pulling the lever, a gear popped out.

"That's one way to solve the problem," Zag picked up the gear from where it had fell.

"The line appears too unstable to make multiple trips and I highly doubt will hold more than one person. Someone will have to go alone while the rest of us find another way."

Silence befell the group, somebody would have to go alone through this hellhole?

"I'll go."

"Are you sure Zagreus?"

He nodded, "I'll go after tree-girl. You guys find another way around."

Professor handed Zag the Tommy gun after he put the gear in its place.

"If you're going alone, you're taking this."

Zag took the gun, "Stay safe, or some shit."

The group stayed long enough to watch Zag off, waiting until he reached the other side before turning back.

-Line Break-

He was making his way up the long spiraling platforms when a voice could be heard, coming from the loudspeaker.

"What's the point of continuing onward? Information? A way out? Or maybe perhaps certain wolf and young helpless girl?"

Another voice could be heard faintly in the background, "I'LL SHOW YOU HELPLESS, LET ME GO AND I'LL KICK YOUR ASS FOR-"

Her next words were covered up Alice once again, "I would hurry if I were you. One is practically falling apart at the seams."

Zag continued on, more urgency in each step.

"I'm not showing this bitch any mercy when I find her."

-Line Break-

'Shit, shit, shit, shit, not good.'

They had managed to find another way to go and as they were traveling upwards in the building, they came across another swarm of the inky creatures. With limited numbers and weapons, the odds weren't in their favor.

So they all ran, unfortunately split up.

Professor was now running through the halls alone, weaponless and running slowly out of stamina.

He stopped run, panting for breathe. Suddenly, he felt an inky hand grab his leg, pulling it out from under him and he fell.

"SHIT!"

He kicked at the hand but to no avail. His screams were swallowed as he was dragged into the ink.

-Line Break-

Shadow and Gleam both were cursing to themselves. Everyone was once again split up. This was the worst case scenario.

Coming to a t-intersection, inky shadows grew on the walls. A heartbeat thumping.

Looking down the one side of the intersection, they could see Bendy walking towards them.

They spoke at the same time, "Arrias."

As their friend came closer, they knew they could easily take them.

But, they couldn't hurt her.

So, they ran.

-Line Break-

Zag flipped the last switch, powering the ride for the monster house.

"Fucking finally, I just want to find her to kick her ass already."

Holding the Tommy gun in both hands, he entered the ride and got into a cart.

The cart began to move, her voice coming over the speaker again. This served to piss him off but it also worried him. There were no angry retorts when the bitch would pause.

The cart followed the path, traveling through a long twisting tunnel before coming into a large, open room. Carts and supplies left on the center area left from years ago when it was being built.

The cart was finally reached the other door, it opening up for the cart to pass through. The path ahead was too dark to see.

Suddenly, the cart was sent flying backwards, soaring though the air. Zag fell out of the cart, rolling onto the ground, Tommy gun still in hand.

"God fucking damn-"

His voice caught in his thoat. In the doorway stood a blank-eyed Novia.

Except it wasn't quite Novia, areas of her skin were inky black while other sections had black veins scattered about. Her hands weren't normal either. Instead of fingers, were 5 razor sharp claws. Her eyes were complete void of emotion, like a machine. Black veins stretched from around her eyes.

The voice came again, "Do you like what I've done to her? I've changed some of her more…. Unnecessary parts. She'll be perfect for making me beautiful once more."

Zag slowly stood up, unsure of what to do, how to respond. This couldn't be Novia, could it?

"She's more like you and me now. A creature of this ink."

This snapped Zag out of it, "THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

A few moments of silence.

Then, laughter.

"You didn't even know? All you are is another creature of the ink. A conscience trapped in a form. A hapless fool trapped in this hell with the rest of us."

His fists tightened around the Tommy gun. "JUST COME OUT AND FIGHT ME YOU BITCH, I'LL KICK YOU ASS SO HARD YOU'LL GO FLYING TO THE SURFACE!"

More laughter, "I would pay more attention to the one in the room with you now."

"Wh-"

The wind was knocked out of him and he went flying back, Novia slowly lowering the leg she used to kick him.

"Novia-"

Zag locked eyes with the blank stare.

"-Destroy him."


	6. Into Hell

Mooms was carrying Tensuki, a pipe in one hand. Spotting an empty and fairly clean room, she started in. Taking a moment to set Ten down before she closed the door.

For a few minutes, the only sounds in the room were the panting of breaths.

"Momma? Do…. Do you think the others will be okay?"

Mooms tried to smile encouragingly, "I'm sure of it. Nothing can stop us and our chaotic energies."

"Mooms. Please, be honest." Ten begged.

She sighed, sinking to the floor. "I don't know. We're all split up again. Novia's gone, Arrias is gone, who else could we end up losing?"

Ten moved, hugging Mooms. "I just wanna go home, I just want everyone to be safe."

In silence, the stillness of the studio around them, the two cried.

-Line Break-

The two were fighting, surrounded by ink creatures.

"DAMNIT, HOW MANY MORE OF THESE THINGS ARE COMING?!" Shadow landed another solid hit, another one falling but two more took it's place.

"Just keep fighting, we can't let up."

Despite the scratches, the punches and blows, the two kept fighting.

As they felt they could be nearing their limit, the wave had ended.

Glancing over their injuries, planning to continue forward, they were taken back.

From every one of their open injuries, came a small amount of black ink.

Silence fell over them for a few moments before one spoke.

"Well fuck."

-Line Break-

"Come on, come on, there's gotta be one close by."

"I don't think I can keep running for much longer."

"Just keep running, Spot, please. We'll find one soon, I promise."

The two could feel the pain in their chests, breathing quick and short. Their legs burned as they kept running. They couldn't stop, they had to find a Little Miracle Station.

After all, Bendy was after them.

Finally, Glam spotted one. Tighten her grip on Spot's hand, she ran faster.

"ALMOST THERE!"

They opened the door and both hopped in.

They waited with baited breaths for the inky twisted version of their friend to pass. Only, it didn't.

It ripped the door off the little Miracle Station.

They looked in terror as it reached for them.

But then, it stopped. Backing away, it gripped it's head like it was in pain.

Spot and Glam could hear one thing, that made them move, running once again.

Arrias' voice, coming from the creature, telling them to run.

As the two ran, escaping a terrible fate, Arrias was once again shoved back into the inky black recesses of the creature's mind.

-Line Break-

He was surrounded by darkness.

He could hear so many other voices, it was overwhelming.

The voices cried, wanting escape, freedom. But only mixed together, growing louder in noise.

Then, he opened his eyes.

He could hear the voices still; despair, no hope, longing for freedom but he pushed it back.

Wobbling to his feet, he rose a hand to place on the side of his head.

And froze.

The hand, _his hand_ , was an inky black, just like the inky creatures he and the group had encountered time and time again.

Shaking, he looked down, towards the rest of his body.

Nothing but the same inky black.

"Oh fuck."

-Line Break-

Bards and Pike weren't expecting this when the gate closed behind them in the large room.

Bards dove out of the way as a fist slammed into the ground where she had just been.

Pike swung her pipe, hitting the twisted, transformed version of what was once Boris square in the chest.

It roared and the two darted away. A dangerous game of cat and mice.

The two kept up this strategy. Boris would chase one and the other would wait for the right moment to strike.

Dashing around once again, Bards was the target.

Except this time, she didn't move out of the way in time.

She was struck, flying through the air and slamming into the wall. It was worse than the elevator crash.

Blood stained the wall where Bards' head had hit.

Pike had no time to call out to her fallen comrade, there was bigger fish to fry.

Pike's full attention on defeating the monster Boris, she didn't see what began to happen to Bards.

Bards, who had landed in a pool of ink, dazed and dizzy, slowly losing blood.

Slowly, ink started to seep into the wound.

Pike dodged a close fist, sending an attack of her own.

It was a dangerous dance. One wrong move and not only would Pike be hit but the two trapped would be as good as dead.

Feeling the exhaustion in her muscles, she attacked again with all her strength.

And finally, monster Boris fell to the floor.

Pike dropped her pipe and ran over to Bards, who was now sitting up.

Neither noticed the opening of one of the gates.

"Let me check how bad it is, I can see the blood."

Bards turned for Pike to check the back of her head.

Pike froze. In place of an open wound, was skin an inky black. It wasn't spread a far amount yet but the inky veins were slowly seeping downwards.

A voice in the room caused both to turn suddenly, on edge before seeing who it was.

"Boris?"

It was Ten, who looked traumatized as the monster Boris had not completely returned to nothing but ink.

Mooms was looking at the two, hoping for a form of explanation but neither had one.

So instead, she knelt beside Ten. Pulling him into a hug as he could now do nothing but weep.

Mooms, Bards, and Pike shared a look.

If this had happened to Boris, what happened to Novia?

-Line Break-

Zag dodged another strike.

"Goddamnit tree bitch! SNAP OUT OF IT!"

Her blank, emotionless eyes did nothing but taunt him.

The only thing he could do was dodge out of the way of her strikes. Shooting her could kill her, trying to hit where with the gun could break it and he still had a bitch to shoot.

The options he had were try to snap her out of it or attack her.

So, he talked.

"This isn't like you, so fucking go back to acting like normal! You're stronger than this! So fight it damnit!"

That's when he noticed it, a pause in her actions. It was short, not extremely noticeable. But it was there, a sign of hope.

But he let his guard slip. He barely managed to dodge her claws aimed for his heart. He could feel the pain of where she managed to catch him.

There wasn't time to pay attention to injuries though.

He was snapping her out of this and the bitch would pay for what she did.


	7. Sorrow

An attack.

A dodge.

He tried again.

"Don't you have chaos to cause with the meatball?"

Another attack.

Another dodge.

Another attempt.

"What about plotting for writing with the nerd?"

Attack.

Dodge.

Attempt to get through.

"Vibe checking everyone with the chaotic flower child."

Attack.

Dodge.

Attempt.

"Helping Pumpkin learn how to cause chaos with the meatball."

Attack.

Dodge.

Attempt.

"Are you giving it all up?"

Attack.

Dodge.

Attempt.

"Are you leaving everyone behind?"

Attack.

Dodge.

Attempt.

"Aren't you stronger than this?"

A change.

As her claws swung, aimed for his heart, they stopped before they could strike true.

A blank expression still on her face, she staggered backwards.

She could say only one thing before it began, "Help me."

That's when she fell to her knees, hands gripping her head, and she screamed.

It was one of absolute agony.

Zag stood frozen now, he didn't know what to do. What _could_ he do right now?

She stopped screaming, her head tilted downwards, and she was panting.

Zag finally moved, getting close to check on her. He was still cautious when he got close, not sure if she was truly in control or not.

She tilted forward and he caught her. She was unconscious now.

"DAMN YOU!"

He snapped his head to the side and saw the one and only bitch approaching.

He smirked. Leaving Novia on the floor, he stood up, Tommy gun in hand, and turned to her. Tommy gun aimed as she ran towards him.

He pulled the trigger.

_Nothing happened._

"Fuck."

So he did the next best thing. In her blind rage as she got close, he swung the gun like a bat and hit her in the head, knocking her to the side.

She was back up and charging. This time not him but the unconscious member of the room.

He was quick to knock Alice back once more but he had realized something. He couldn't fight the bitch and protect Novia at the same time.

So he did the what he could instead. He knocked her back one more time then threw the Tommy gun at her.

She stumbled, not expecting to be hit by the flying Tommy gun.

But that was all the time Zag needed to pick up Novia and run.

He didn't pay attention to any of her screams and shouts of outrage.

It felt like a lifetime by the time he stopped running, pausing long enough to move Novia from his shoulder onto his back before he continued moving.

Only to stop again upon coming across an Alice Angel, different from the one before, and a Boris with a mechanical arm.

At that moment, a voice came over the loud speaker.

"You're a fool if you think you can run away with what is mine."

He cursed to himself and the Alice came closer.

"You're running from her, aren't you?"

"And if I am, what should that matter to you?"

Alice looked at the Boris, who shook his head, and looked back at Zag.

"Come with us, we can help you."

He narrowed his eyes then felt movement on his back.

Before he could do or say anything, he was pushed forward as Novia shoved herself off his back.

He managed to catch himself before he fell onto his face and the Alice backed up slightly.

"Damnit Novia, what the-"

He cut himself when he turned to face her.

She looked _terrified_. She was shaking, taking step after step away from them.

Her voice was quiet, "St-stay away from me, please. She's trying t-to control me. I-I don't want to hurt anyone. P-please, just stay away."

He took a step forward and she froze. "So you're just going to give up to her?"

She opened her mouth to speak but closed her eyes, her hands reaching up and grabbing her head.

"I-I can't stop her, n-not forever. I-it hurts. I just want it to stop."

"Then let's get fucking moving. The farther away we are, the harder for her to control you, right?"

Her head had dropped while he was talking and she was shaking again.

He took another step closer and her head shot up, inky tears running down her face.

"It's too late."

He noticed her eyes seemed to flicker between emotionless and terror and he silently cursed to himself.

"If we hurry-"

"Sorry."

In sharp movement, her arm moved and her claws had impaled her own chest.

She gave a smile and she dropped forwards to the ground.

"NO!"

A sharp pain was felt through the back of his head and he blacked out.

-Line Break-

To Spot and Glam's relief, they had managed to find Shadow and Gleam. After dropping the pipe in a panic getting away from Bendy, they were left without a defense.

Walking down a hallway, trying to locate the others, an inky creature walked from around a corner.

It seemed to stagger more than walk, like a new born fawn trying to get to it's legs.

It spotted them and it spoke.

"Guys?"

Spot gasped, the others having various levels of surprise and shock.

"D-dad?"

"Professor?!?!"

A shaky nod.

"Yeah, it's me," his voice was muffled, like he was speaking from underwater, but his voice was unmistakable.

"So it seems another of us has fallen to the ink."

Spot, Glam, and Professor all looked confused, though it was harder to tell Professor's expression.

"What do you mean Gleam?"

"It means both Gleam and I are apparently ink. It's likely Tensuki and Zagreus are as well."

What had started as a simple quest to help one had become something to free all of them.


	8. Returns

He groaned as he woke up.

"Fucking hell…."

Sitting up, he quickly realized he wasn't where he was before. He was on a cot, a wall blocking his view of the rest of the room.

He was on his feet in an instant, moving to the boarded up doorway. He could see the Alice, painting a message - not unlike the ones that could be seen everywhere else - onto the wall.

"You're awake."

"Yeah, now can you let me the fuck out of here?"

"Tom doesn't trust you. Said it would be best to leave you in there for right now."

"Oh gee, thanks."

She placed her can of ink onto the table and grabbed a bowl, walking to the boarded up doorway.

"Mind telling me what the fuck compelled you to take me with you and where-"

She placed the bowl on the ledge of one of the boards, "We didn't bring her with. She was slowly sinking into the ink, there was nothing we could have done. And I brought you with because you seemed like you needed help. With _her_ after you, you probably wouldn't have escaped alone."

"I would have been fine alone! And I would have been able to help her if you fucking assholes didn't knock me unconscious!"

The Alice looked at him, a sadness in her eyes, "She was turned into just another one of her puppets. Even if we could have brought her with and she survived, she would have been controlled. Likely killing all of us. It would have been too high of a risk."

She turned away and headed to one of the back rooms, the sound of the bowl smashing and yelling greeted her ears.

-Line Break-

Despite the confusion and concern for Professor's transformation into an ink being, the group was relieved to be back together as a group.

At least, mostly back together.

"Did you guys see Zag at all? Or Novia?" Spot said, holding Glam's hand.

"We didn't find them but…." Pike started, looking off to the side and unsure how to break the news.

"We found Boris. He was…. Mutated, twisted. We had to fight him." Bards finished.

Ten hugged Mooms for comfort, who gently patted his head.

Glam squeezed Spot's hand, "Do…. Do you think the same thing happened to Novia?"

Silence fell over the group, some eyes falling into Professor. The possibility seemed all too real.

"There's no point in thinking about what ifs. The best course of action is to find Zagreus and Novia and keep moving."

With Shadow's words, the group refocused on their goals and began to move through the hell once again.

They only hoped that the two were alright and close enough to find quickly.

-Line Break-

Tom had returned at some point, sitting at a chair and watching him, pipe in hand. Alice was beside him, repriming him for doing something stupid while fixing his mechanical arm.

Zag's anger had quelled somewhat, in favor of trying to figure out a way to get out.

He needed to get back to the group and he still needed to get revenge.

It didn't take long for Alice's demeanor to change. The sound from the vents wasn't exactly comforting.

"We need to leave now. He knows we're here now." She moved to go to the boarded up door but she was grabbed.

"Tom, we can't just leave him here. He'll die!"

Tom shook his head and began moving to the door.

Alice looked at Zag and spoke two words before she ran out the door following her companion.

"I'm sorry."

He took a moment to evaluate his situation.

"Well fuck."

Looking at the cot, it wouldn't have been any use for breaking the boards so he did the next best thing.

He slammed his body into the boards.

Not expecting them to give way on the first hit, he stumbled and fell to the floor.

"God fucking damnit."

He quickly got to his feet and ran out the door, the sound in the vents getting closer.

He kept running, trying to make his way through the unfamiliar maze.

Nearing another intersection, he could hear something or someone walking.

Pressing his back to the wall, he waited for it to pass.

He wasn't expecting Spot to poke their head around the wall.

"Nimita?"

"Zig Zag!"

They disappear back into the hallway they came from and Zag moved away from the wall, standing in the intersection.

"Well, that's one to find them."

-Line Break-

"And why should I believe you? After _He_ did not free us, why should I believe you will do the same?"

"Help me take out the flies and we will gather our forces and take out the demon himself, once and for all. Then, we all will be free."

"We'll agree to work with you for now. Betray us and we'll turn on you."

"I wasn't expecting anything less."

As the two began to form a plan, another figure stood in the back of the room silently.

-Line Break-

"So seven of us that have been affected by the ink and we still haven't found a way to reverse it."

"Eight."

The entire group looked at Zag and they realized what he meant.

"You found Novia already?! Why isn't she with you then?!" Mooms glared at Zag.

He snapped back, "She would be if she wasn't a self-sacrificing dumbass!"

Most of the group froze at his words. He looked away from everyone.

"She….. she's gone?"

"...... Yeah."

-Line Break-

"And you're certain they will come?"

"Yes, there is no doubt in my mind."

"And that one?"

"Merely a puppet now, completely under my control."

-Line Break-

"Zig Zag clown, _I hope you can get this thing to move faster_."

"Grandma, I am moving this thing as fast as it will go."

"Yeah well, you need to go faster!"

"This isn't the time for arguments, the both of you!"

"I can see a dock!"

"Ten, calm down. We need to get there first."

"Oh, we are going to fucking make it."

"Then go faster, it's almost here!"

"Go go go!"

The small group clambered off the boat, in a nick of time as a weird hand creature grabbed the boat and pulled it below the surface.

The group had reached what looked like an underground city.

Moving to join the other half of the group, Zag looked up at one of the higher platforms.

He froze but a shout snapped his attention away. They were under attack now, ink creatures from coming from everywhere. He looked back to the platform for a moment. 

Novia was gone.


	9. Turning the Tides

"Mooms, behind you!"

She dodged an attack from behind and smacked it with the board she had found lying around. It lost its form, sinking between the boards.

"How many more of these are going to show up?!"

Professor, also with a board in hand, whacked another one away, "If we're lucky, not too many."

A distance away, the two could hear Zag shout, "WHEN THE FUCK ARE WE EVER THAT LUCKY?!"

"Just keep fighting! They'll come to an end!" Pike yelled as encouragement.

"Hopefully," Bards was quick to take out one that went to attack Pike from behind.

The ones without weapons had grabbed loose boards from where they could. Not the best but they worked well enough. Gleam and Shadow fought off the major bulk but they didn't mean there weren't many more.

It was when the masses became thicker did many of them start to worry more.

Then suddenly, Bards was pushed from the thicket, into the clear area. She had managed to keep a grip on her pipe as she stumbled backwards.

The shout of one of the others, she couldn't tell who, was the only reason she managed to dodge the claws that swiped past her, nearly impaling her.

She looked and who or what had attempted to attack her and she froze.

In front of her was Novia. Expression blank as she pulled her claws from the boards.

Novia straightened and turned to Bards, her blank gaze was unnerving to say the least.

"N-Novia?"

She barely managed to dodge again as Novia lunged forward.

She could hear the others shouting, attempting to help her but the mass of ink creatures was too thick to break though. They would have to fight off them first.

Bards didn't have a chance to do anything other than dodge each of Novia's strikes. Being pushed farther and farther away from the others.

-Line Break-

"Just like a puppet on strings, working as it should. Continue to dance puppet, bring about the end of those that once considered you a friend. Everything is going to plan."

-Line Break-

Ten managed to slip out the mass of ink creatures.

He had to help Bards and snap Novia out of it.

His plan was shot out of the air however, seeing a familiar figure approaching Bards from behind. With Bards dodging Novia, she wouldn't even notice the attack coming from behind.

Ten ran, none of them noticing him, and he hit his former kidnapper in the knees with a board before he could attack Bards.

"AWK!" He fell onto the ground, dropping his axe. Turning his head, he saw Ten, holding a board. "YOU AGAIN! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!"

_Whack._

Ten smacked him in the head with the board.

Meanwhile, Bards dodged another attack and finally had a chance for one of her own. She nailed Novia right in the gut with her pipe.

Novia seemed to slump over the pipe and a voice came over the sound system.

"You infuriating flies will all fall. One by one. And by the way, I would pay more attention to your fight if I were you."

Bards managed to move her head back just in time to avoid claws swiping upward.

-Line Break-

She cackled, seeing the reaction of the one her puppet was fighting. Completely unaware of the slackening strings of her puppet.

-Line Break-

Ten was at an advantage, it wasn't that hard to tell. His opponent was enraged, attacking blindly, and Ten could easily dodge the slower swings of the axe.

A few more well placed hits and he could help Bards.

Bards, for her part, was struggling. Novia was relentless, strike after strike after strike.

She could see that the rest of the group had taken care of most of the inky creatures.

Mooms and Professor were back to back, taking out as many as they could to clear a path. Zag was shouting insults, still obviously pissed. Spot and Glam were handling their own pretty well, watching each other's backs. Pike seemed to have managed to move closer to Professor and Mooms, intending to help clear a way. Gleam and Shadow had taken care of the last ones still coming from this wave. It was becoming apparent that no more would be coming.

Bards couldn't tell too much more than that from the glances she could take, Novia still attacking.

-Line Break-

Now, she ground her teeth. Rage filling her. Her plan was falling apart at the seams.

-Line Break-

Bards could hear someone running up somewhere behind her, she couldn't tell who.

Then suddenly, she felt pain in her abdomen as she flew backwards, slamming into whoever had been running.

Novia lowered her foot and stumbled backwards, head down.

Only a few feet away from Novia, Ten smacked his kidnapper in the abdomen with the board, causing not only the board to break but for the one hit to collapse, turning into nothing more than ink.

Everyone heard the enraged scream.

Alice Angel charged Tensuki. The rest of the group too far away to protect the youngest.

Ink pierced ink.


	10. Falling and Ink

Novia had been patient. She could tell Alice's control over her was slipping the more enraged she became but she waited. She let Alice control her instead of fighting back.

She would snap the strings before Alice realized her own mistake.

Kicking Bards away, she felt her body slacken. Alice seemed through with controlling her. That was her fatal mistake.

She waited, like a panther for its prey, striking when they were close.

Novia moved, attacking Alice before she had the chance to attack Ten.

Her eyes filled with rage and shock before she dropped to the ground as Novia pulled her claws out.

"Novia?"

She turned her head, looking down to the youngest and gave a slight smile, despite her body feeling like it was about to drop.

"Yeah, it's me."

Her words sent a shock wave through the group.

Ten immediately latched onto her.

Mooms, Spot, and Glam all ran forward with the intent of tackling Novia.

Zag seemed to mutter under his breath while Professor seemed relieved.

Pike and Bards both got up, both less tense now that it was over. At least for now.

Shadow and Gleam both kept their guard up, both at the ready if they were attacked again.

It wasn't until Ten let her go and the three went to tackle her that she collapsed.

-Line Break-

They had decided to rest where they were for a while. With high emotions and all the fighting and running, a break would help even if it was a short one.

When Zagreus woke up, most everyone was still sleeping, the exceptions being Gleam and Professor, who were on watch for the moment.

The small room of the makeshift building acted as enough cover in case any more ink creatures decided to show up.

He noticed several of the others stirring, slowly starting to wake.

Spot and Glam were cuddling in their sleep.

Shadow was against a sidewall, looking more like he was mediating than sleeping.

Bards was standing, having just woke up after Zag.

Pike was just starting to sit up now while nearby Mooms slowly woke up, Ten close to her.

And in the back of the room, just standing up, was Novia.

He walked back, avoiding those still sleeping on the floor.

Novia noticed him coming and gave a slight smirk, now elongated fangs visible.

"Looks like the sleeping beauty finally woke up." Zag was now in front of her.

"Well it's nice to see you too Chevron-"

Her words were cut off by a fist to the face, which knocked her off her feet and onto her back.

"Don't be so much of a reckless dumbass, got it?"

She looked kind of surprised at first before she chuckled and looked up at the other, "I probably should have been expecting that."

"Yeah, ya should've. Now get up, we'll need to leave soon."

-Line Break-

The chains snap with a quick swipe of her claws.

"Those definitely come in handy!"

Novia looked sheepish as Ten seemed to bounce around. The group could tell Ten was trying to lighten the mood, now that they had almost everyone back together.

Pike stepped forward first, "Let's go guys!"

Pike took a step onto the first board of the weird bridge and fell through.

"PIKE!"

Ten went to run forward after Pike but was grabbed by Mooms.

"We need rope or something to get down, it's impossible to tell how far of a drop it is," Professor took control of the situation.

-Line Break-

"Ah crap, that hurt."

Pike crawled out of the pool of ink she fell into, unaware of the ink that had entered a wound.

She looked up the hole from which she fell, "I should wait for the others."

-Line Break-

"The Office of Joey Drew." Bards read the sign. "If I had to take a guess, there's likely important information in there."

"And there's a way to… something over here but we can't exactly get through," Mooms walked back over, Ten, Spot, and Glam with her.

Novia shook the door handle, "Locked."

Professor looked past Novia, "And another one of those weird machines. Which means there should be that weird ink balls to put in it somewhere."

"Splitting up would be the best option. The blocked entrance seems to be our only way out. We also need to break into the office. This way is a maze from the looks of it." Gleam said, walking back from another hall.

"We already took care of the creatures this way." Shadow was right behind Gleam.

"So some of us break into an office and the rest go finding the ink for the pipes then," Pike said.

Zag and Novia locked eyes.

"Breaking time?"

"Breaking time."

"Well that's settled for the breaking and entering. Let's hurry up and find the ink blobs."

-Line Break-

Novia was careful with the papers due to her claws, completely broken down door at the entrance.

"I think I found what we've been looking for."

-Line Break-

The group walked back to the entrance of the maze, Novia and Zag standing there with a stack of papers.

Without anything said, they knew they had what they needed.

-Line Break-

"Oh jesus christ, that's a hell of a lot bigger than I was expecting to see."

"All we need to do is cross the ink, reverse the flow like it says to, and bing bang boom, it's over."

"Hopefully."

"Then let's go then, no time to waste."

Professor walked forward, stepping into the ink, and dropped.

Swallowed by the ink.

"PROFESSOR!"


	11. The End

Ten lunged forward only to be grabbed and pulled back by Mooms. The smaller started flailing trying to get free of the older’s grasp.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Zaddie had also dashed forward when Ten did but no one stopped them in time. They ran into the ink, hands flinging about in hopes of finding Professor.

"It's like he was sucked in…" Novia moved closer, intending on getting a closer look at the ink and where Professor could have gone.

Her upper arm was grabbed and she was yanked backwards. She stumbled and almost fell on top of the one who pulled her.

“That’s a smart move Puke Rock, go into the ink that someone just disappeared into.”

She turned her head and glared at Zagreus as he released her arm, “Zaddie’s perfectly fine.”

“They haven’t been affected by the ink,” Bards spoke up. “Not like Prof was.”

Glam moved forward into the ink beside Zaddie, placing her hand on Zaddie’s shoulder as Ten started to calm down.

“Even going in while only partly affected could prove to be just as dangerous, better to not test that theory.” For the first time, both Glitz and Shadow looked unsure how to proceed given the situation.

“So that means only me, Mooms, Zaddie, and Glam can cross?”

“Carrying people across wouldn’t be th-” Her voice caught in her throat.

That’s when the screaming started.

Ten, Bards, and Pike dropped to their knees, screams of pain echoing through the cavern. Zag stumbled but kept to his feet as he and the two hedgehogs grunted in pain. Novia was silent, frozen and tense.

Zaddie and Glam scrambled out of the inky pool, moving towards the others.

“What’s happening to them?!”

Mooms looked just as panicked, “I don’t know!”

A voice, only heard by those affected, whispered in the heads of each.

“The ink. Join the ink. Join us. Join me.”

A step.

Three heads turned.

Another step.

“Novia?”

Step.

Blank eyes were unseeing.

Step.

“Oh no.”

Novia walked towards the ink, closer and closer, and was tackled from behind.

“Got her!”

Zaddie sat on Novia’s back as Glam and Mooms checked the others, who were still in pain.

It took several minutes before the pain flooding the systems of the group faded, the screams and grunts of pain fading.

Through gritted teeth, the one pinned beneath Zaddie spoke, “Get me away from the ink, feels like something is trying to pull me in.”

With swift movement, the shorter was off the back of the taller and dragging her back to the group.

Shaken, Novia stood again, “We can’t cross the ink.”

“We can not stay here and risk a similar event of what just happened occurring again.” Shadow looked towards the doorway the group came from while Glitz turned to Pike.

“Given how you seemed to have had a similar reaction as the rest of us, you’ve likely been affected by the ink.”

“So our fate is basically in the hands of the grandma and the simps, wonderful.”

“Shut it ZigZag.”

“Have faith in them, asshole.” Novia turned to the three, “Good luck guys.”

“Good luck Momma!”

“Good luck guys.”

With few words left to speak, the group split. Most heading away from the pool while three made their way into the very heart of the inky hell.

-Line Break-

The trio crept through the halls of the machine, fearing drawing the attention of any inky creatures that could be lurking within.

Mooms lead the way, pipe in hand, while Glam and Zaddie follow close behind holding hands and Zaddie holding the other pipe.

They made their way through a hallway with chambers in the wall, each one with an inky being in them.

“They look just like Dad….”

Glam gently squeezed Zaddie’s hand as Mooms glanced backwards at the two, “Let’s keep moving.”

They continued through the halls, finally coming to a misshapen throne. Walking into the room, the door shut behind them, trapping them.

The room was circular, screens decorated the walls. The throne itself looked like an armchair one would have in their house, chains hanging off what looked like bones attached to the top. The chair sat atop a mass of ink, reels, and projectors.

There wasn’t much more detail the trio could focus on as a familiar inky hand grabbed onto the back of the chair, a figure raising from behind its throne.

The form of their once friend turned ink demon seemed to glare down at them. Glam and Zaddie squeezed the other’s hand as Zaddie and Mooms both raised their pipes. They took a step backwards as Bendy’s grin seemed to become menacing.

It raised one hand and it began to increase in size. It ducked behind the throne once more, seemingly growing.

“What the fuck?”

Two large horns popped up from behind the throne accompanied by a deep rumbling growl. That was the only warning the trio got before the large ink creature lunged over the throne.

Glam pulled Zaddie in one direction as Mooms dove in the other. Bendy slammed into the wall by Glam and Zaddie, body slamming through it.

“We need to distract it if we want a chance to reverse this!”

“Zaddie and I will keep it occupied, you reverse the machine Mooms.”

“Baby, I can do it alone, I want you to stay safe.”

“Nope, we do this together.”

“We don’t have time to argue about this. Try to lead it away and I’ll try to reverse the flow as fast as possible.”

With some reluctance from Zaddie, the two went through the hole in the wall, chasing after the beast.

Mooms moved quickly, making her way to the backside of the throne to reveal the mechanics shown on the papers.

“Well, here’s to hoping I can figure this out quickly.”

She knelt down, placing her pipe beside her and pulling the papers from her pocket, wasting no time with thoughts of doubt. Everyone was depending on her now.

-Line Break-

Most of the group sat on boxes or leaned against the wall of the vault, except for one.

Novia paced the center of the room, her worry was evident by the look on her face.

“You’re going to wear a hole into the floorboards.” Bards said, watching her go from one side of the room to the other.

“Yeah, why don’t you sit down for a bit?” Pike looked worried as well, thoughts going back to the trio.

She didn’t even give a slight acknowledgement that she heard them.

“You can’t exactly blame her for not wanting to sit. She’s just as worried as the rest of us, just let her be for now.” Glitz spoke up, gaze never leaving the doorway to the machine.

With a huff, Zag pushed off the wall he leaned against, walking to Novia. She didn’t even notice him as she pasted in front of him on her path.

She let out a yelp as she was suddenly dragged out of the vault by the back of her shirt.

The group was in silence for a few minutes after the two left, Ten breaking the silence.

“Will they be able to do it?”

Shadow looked to the youngest, “All we can do now is have faith in them.”

-Line Break-

The two pressed against the wall as the transformed Bendy charged through the hallway, disappearing through the wall.

They dashed across the hallway, quickly pulling the lever.

“The door opened!"

“Let’s hurry then!”

Zaddie led the way, their hands never separating as they avoided the charging ink creature and ran through the door. They dashed through the hallway, their hearts pounding as they rounded the corner to another door which slowly opened.

They slipped in, seeing another closed door on a side wall and an ink value on the opposite side of the room. Four glass tubes sat at each corner of the room.

They ran across the room, Glam spinning the value as Zaddie stood guard of her.

Ink began flowing through the pipes as Bendy walked through the door, which slammed shut behind it.

“The door didn’t open, we’re fucked.”

Zaddie latched onto Glam’s hand and dragged her out of the way as Bendy charged them once again.

Except this time, it didn’t charge straight forward, it followed after them as they took cover behind one of the glass pipes.

It swiped when it grew close, the two managing to take cover in a nick of time. The glass pipe shattered, spraying the two with small pieces of glass. Lucky for the both of them, none of the glass cut them.

“Wait, the pipes! They could open the door!”

“Wh-” Zaddie didn’t have much time to question the other, the two having to run once again to avoid the beast.

This time however, Glam separated her hand from her partner’s, running across the room as Zaddie ran straight ahead towards the next pipe.

“Glam!”

“Hey Bendy, come and get me!”

Zaddie stopped and watched as Bendy charged their love. Shu managed to get behind the glass pipe, tricking the beast into breaking the second one.

But that’s as far as she got before Bendy swiped again, mark hitting true. Glam was sent flying, back slamming into the wall.

“ _ **GLAM!!!**_ ”

Zaddie threw her pipe at Bendy, drawing it’s attention away from Glam. It charged once again, sights on Zaddie.

Zaddie moved behind the glass pipe, plan in mind. As it swung at Zaddie, hitting the pipe, Zaddie ran again.

They ran towards the last glass pipe, Bendy giving chase once more. They ducked, dodging another swipe and tucked behind the glass pipe.

It smashed the pipe and the lights went out.

Zaddie felt their heart leap into their throat.

The lights flickered back on.

Bendy was gone.

They ran to Glam, who was beginning to stir again.

“Honey bear, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

Zaddie helped Glam to her feet, supporting most of her weight.

“Come on, let’s keep moving. And hopefully we are still successfully being a distraction.”

-Line Break-

“Come on, come on….”

Mooms could feel the line of sweat run down her face. She had managed to follow most of the instructions as written down but she wasn’t even sure if she had done then right. But no time to worry about it, she pressed on.

She was working on the last set of wires to reconnect.

The sound of running met her ears.

“Mooms, I hope you’re almost done!”

Zaddie and Glam entered the room, Zaddie carrying Glam, and dashed behind the throne to where Mooms was.

“Almost…”

“Mooms, any time now!”

Mooms didn’t need to look to know Bendy had entered the room, stalking closer.

“ _Almost…_ ”

“ **MOOMS!** ”

She connected the last wire.

“Done!”

Suddenly, the trio blacked out.

-Line Break-

Bards stirred awake.

“What the… what just happened?”

She looked around.

The sun was shining, birds were chirping, the trees swayed in the breeze.

“Wait a minute here…. How?”

She could see the others scattered about close by, no Zagreus, Tensuki, Glitz, or Shadow in sight but there was someone else.

“ARRIAS!”

Everyone else began to stir at her shout.

“Jesus, quiet down a bit, would you?”

“Guys, we’re outside!”

This got everyone’s attention, as they began to quickly sit up and look around.

“FUCK YEAH, WE DID IT!” Zaddie sprang to their feet and tackled Glam in excitement.

Novia looked down at her hands. They were ink-free.

“Where’s Tensuki?” Mooms looked around, seemingly slightly panicked.

“It would make sense they are no longer with us, they weren’t with us when we came.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

The group began to help each other up, heading to the van to leave.

Except one.

Professor looked back at the building which had fallen, boards scattered about. He pulled a vial out of his pocket, which contained black ink much like what had been in the studio.

He pocketed the vial once more and jogged to catch up with the others, a smirk pulling on his face.


End file.
